Whats Your Mindset?

Believing You Can Improve through Practice, Perseverance, and Perspective

A Model for a Growth Mindset

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52

What You Can Achieve with PRACTICE

Recall

the well-known people from the title slide. They have all developed expertise in PRACTICE and MINDSETS. Is this a TALENT or a DEVELOPED SKILL?

When

we want to get better at something, dont we know that we must PRACTICE?

PRACTICE is simply a lot of trial and error

David Galenson - genius comes in two different forms. One can seem natural but carries much concentration and practice. The other seems less natural and proceeds by a lifetime of trial and error. And it applies to virtually every field of intellectual endeavor.

Just because some people can do something with little or no training,doesnt mean that others cant do it (and sometimes do it better) with training. Carol Dweck, Mindset, p. 70

What YOU can do with PRACTICE

Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind

Carol Dweck, Mindset

and PERSEVERANCE and PERSPECTIVE

Brain-ology 101
Many people think of the brain as a mystery. They dont know much about intelligence and how it works. When they do think about what intelligence is, many people believe that a person is born either smart, average, or dumb and stays that way for life. But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle it changes and gets stronger when you use it. And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn.
- Carol Dweck, Mindset, p. 219

Brain-ology 101 (contd)

Good EFFORT creates better connections!

Brain-ology 101 (contd)

Brain-ology 101 (contd)

When you learn new things, these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger. The more that you challenge your mind to learn, the more your brain cells grow. Then, things that you once found very hard or even impossible like speaking a foreign language or doing algebra seem to become easy. The result is a stronger, smarter brain.
- Carol Dweck, Mindset, p. 219

A Cycle for Learning and Development

Proficiency Target

Attempt Skill (Assessments)

Data
(Results)

Feedback

Strategy

From Jeff Howard, PhD 2004 The Efficacy Institute, Inc.

Effective Effort (Practice) leads to Confidence leads to More Effective Effort leads to Development
Intellectual Character

Differences in Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

FIXED MINDSET Assumes that smart or talent is a given Labels people as one thing or another Fears failure and avoids risk GROWTH MINDSET Assumes that smart or talent is learnable Understands that people can grow Accepts failure as a tool for learning

How To Promote a Growth Mindset

BELIEFS and CONCRETE PLANS are keys! Find success in doing your best, in learning and improving. Look at setbacks as motivating. Theyre informative. Theyre a wake-up call. Take charge of the processes that bring success-and that maintain it.
- Carol Dweck, Mindset

Having

a system is even more beneficial than having a talent. Marvin Marshall, Phi Delta
Kappan, March 2004, p. 503

Bibliography
CBS. Bet You Cant Do This 27 Feb. 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U10IWU_XDPk. Dweck, Carol. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine Books, 2008. Getty Images. Mia Hamm. Photograph. Mrs. Cavens Wiki, Lake Shore Middle SchoolGrade6. 18 Aug. 2009. http://mtsd-ls6.wikispaces.com/file.view/mia_hamm_001.jpg. Howard Gardner. Photograph. International Baccalaureate. 18 Aug. 2009. http://www.ibo.org/img/imagebank/IBSep07ChangingFace.jpg. Howard, Jeff. Notes from Harvard School of Education, Principals Center, November 2004. Marshall, Martin. Using a Discipline System to Promote Learning. Phi Delta Kappan, March 2004: 498-507. Maya Angelou. Photograph. Thethingsilikeaboutme 265s Blog. 18 Aug. 2009. http://thethingsilikeaboutme265.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/maya-angelou.jpg. Pink, Daniel. What Kind of Genius Are You? Wired. July 2006. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.07/genius.html. Pink, Daniel. A Whole New Mind. New York: Penguin Group, Inc., 2006. Tiger Woods. Photograph. Montara Ventures. 18 Aug. 2009. http://montaraventures.com/blog/wp-content/2009/07/tiger_woods_swing.jpg. Yo Yo Ma. Photograph. Will Blog For Food. 18 Aug. 2009. http://willblogforfood.typepad.com/will_blog_for_food/images/yoyoma.jpg.